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Raj Sadosh
Abohar, October 17
A pall of gloom descended on the town over the killing of local fruit trader Charanjit (40) by militants in Kashmir at on Wednesday. His relatives left for Srinagar last night to get his body. The cremation will be held on Friday.
The incident appears to be a deliberate attempt by militants to target non-locals, said the aggrieved family and mourners, who visited their Sarabha Nagar house.
Charanjit’s brother Rakesh said Charanjit and Sanjiv were reportedly thrashed by two persons when the duo was getting apple boxes uploaded in trucks at Tranz in Shopian.
The miscreants then took them away to some distance where armed militants were camping. They started firing that killed Charanjit on the spot, Sanjiv reportedly sustained five bullet injuries and was shifted to a Srinagar hospital. His condition was stated to be critical.
“Till a few days ago, fruit traders were told to avoid visiting Shopian, but they were recently informed that the situation had improved. Following this, they left for Kashmir to purchase apples,” Rakesh said.
Charanjit is survived by his wife and eight-year-old son. Sanjiv is nephew of a fruit grading and waxing plant owner and exporter Surinder Charaya. After his father Jaspal Charaya fell ill, Sanjiv had joined his uncle to run the business.
Fruit merchants who assembled at the Kinnow Mandi mourned the demise and condemned the attack. The militants appeared determined to scare away people from other parts of the country and shatter economy in the Valley, they said. Till Punjab traders were not assured of safety, it would be better to purchase fruit only from Himachal Pradesh, they opined.
Meanwhile, the state government today announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the family of Charanjit. Deputy Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chhatwal said Rs 1 lakh aid had also been announced as assistance to Sanjiv Charaya’s family.
The Chief Minister has condemned the act of terrorism and conveyed sympathies with both families.
Mansa gets Apples with Pak slogans
Bathinda: Apples with pro-Pakistan slogans were found in boxes that arrived from Kashmir. These apples were brought to Bhikhi town of Mansa by local traders. The apples had “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Pakistan Hamara Hai” written on them. A trader at the fruit market in Bhikhi had bought these apples on Wednesday. He opened these boxes on Thursday to find pro-Pakistan slogans on them. He informed the police, which has started a probe into the incident. TNS
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